Missouri’s Amendment 2, legalizing sports betting, officially took effect last Thursday, but bettors will have to wait a little longer before they can place legal wagers in the state.
David Mitchell, a Finance and Economics professor at Missouri State University, explained that the state still needs to issue licenses and finalize rules and regulations before betting can begin.
“It takes time to get those things in place. Licenses, do background checks on people to make sure businesses are set up and websites and everything. It just doesn’t happen overnight,” Mitchell said. “It’s more of an operational constraint than it is a legal constraint.”
Mitchell pointed out that neighboring Kansas, which legalized sports betting earlier, has brought in about $9 million in tax revenue from it. However, he doesn’t expect a similarly significant economic boost for Missouri.
“You’re really more likely to actually have people divert their spending that they were doing on cars and clothes and food, etc… from those particular things which would be more helpful for the economy, towards gambling and betting which tend to not help the economy very much,” Mitchell said.
He also cautioned about the potential negative impacts of sports betting, including the risk of gambling addiction.
“Gambling takes away savings. They dissave as much. They don’t save for retirement. That has a tendency to not only hurt them today but also hurt them in the future,” Professor Mitchell said.
Johan Collins, a sports bettor, expressed excitement about the upcoming changes, eagerly awaiting the day when he can legally place bets within Missouri.
“Now you just have a booker from out of state, and he places the bet and gets a percentage. That’s how it is now. But soon, you won’t have to do that anymore, just do it in-state, which will be really good,” Collins said.
The Missouri Gaming Commission is working on getting everything in place, with plans to officially launch sports betting sometime in the spring or summer. The state has until December 1, 2025, to fully implement the system under the terms of Amendment 2.
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